120 students from St Edmund Hall partook in a quiz night that was held to raise money for the Surviving Winter Campaign, which supports the elderly across the country during the colder months.
James Arwyn-Jones, a third-year medical student, was responsible for organising the quiz, which took place in the dining hall. Arwyn-Jones told Cherwell, “The quiz was a really fun event to be part of. For such a big event, requiring a lot of equipment and space from college, I thought it was incredibly easy to run.
“We had teams of six people answering 10 rounds of questions. We charged £3 for tickets and sold drinks that had been left over from a recent bop (which was a surprising amount!). The costs of putting the quiz on were extremely low, as I just had to top up the drinks slightly, but other than that everything was free. This meant that essentially everything we earned was profit and all went to the Oxfordshire Community Foundation – £454.32, which with the help of GiftAid made about £560.”
According to the Surviving Winter Campaign, last year there were over 170 excess winter deaths related to cold weather conditions, with dozens of others suffering illness and hardship. Through the campaign, the Oxfordshire Community Foundation has promised to “continue to support those most in need and make sure they can afford to stay warm, eat well and remain mobile, as well as help them in practical ways such as ensuring they can make doctor’s appointments, get to the shops, and maintain an active social life.”
The OCF announced last week that it would be giving this donation to the Great Milton Good Neighbours’ Club, which in recent years has found it increasingly difficult to pay for speakers and events. The club, funded by grants and membership fees, was established in 1961 by a village resident Gilbert Pickett, who wished to bring the community together.
Arwyn-Jones explained, “We wanted the money to go to local people, rather than one of the big national or international concerns, and so I went on the OCF’s Localgiving.com website to see who was looking for help. Everyone enjoyed the evening and it was so successful that we’ll be doing more in the future.”
